The wildlife service said today that the killings took place on the edges of Tsavo West National Park. The ivory tusks were chopped off of two female adult elephants. All six carcasses had gunshot wounds.

Rangers on foot and in the air are tracking what is believed to be a group of four poachers.

Tsavo is Kenya's largest single contiguous ecosystem and is home to an estimated 11,000 elephants. A total of 65 elephants have been killed by poachers in Kenya so far this year.